As part of the class he teaches, Hotel and Resort Management (TIM 3110), Travel Industry Management (TIM) instructor Dr. Mario Arnaldo encourages his students to think outside the box and develop new exciting concepts that could change the hotel industry. This year he offered an interesting challenge for the students –develop ideas on how to double the ADR without simply doubling the room rate. To make this happen, the class divided into four teams: Romance, Indulgence, Excitement, and JDLR (Just Doesn’t Look Right).

Dr. Arnaldo gave the students a change to get real world experience by using the model of a real hotel, the soon-to-be-opened Discovery Shores Resort, a small luxury resort with 88 rooms and suites on the tropical Boracay Island in the Philippines.

At the end of the spring 2007 semester, all four groups made three-minute presentations in front of the class, Dr. Arnaldo, and three travel industry professionals, who served as judges. The judges ruled in favor of Team Romance – awarding the group’s members with a restaurant gift certificate.

“This is the first class in my life where I not only got the chance to win knowledge, but also great prizes,” said TIM junior Dominik Kozissnik. “Thank you Dr. Arnaldo for your great inspiration and a unique class experience!”

Team Romance, which focused on the room division, took a literal approach to the challenge. Romance, the team though, could be a good way to increase the spending while also increasing guest satisfaction.

Based on the team’s goal, “to match the suite to the guest and not the guest to the suite,” the group thought of different possibilities to individualize the suites in a romantic way. The student made a list including item such as romantic food, music, and décor.

Once Team Romance figured out what to sell, the students started to think of how to sell it. The group’s idea was to create different packages ranging from $100-$300 to be sold as a type of romantic room upgrade in addition to the regular room rate. The students also developed a reward system to secure continuous booking of the package throughout the entire stay that included various treats such as romantic dinners and spa treatments.

The Hotel and Resort Management class is a study of the organizational structure and operation of hotels and their various departments. The emphasis is on management concepts and the decision-making process. The course has an international orientation, taking into account variations in human and material resources.